'Lie to Me' - 'React to Contact': A soldier's story
Enver Gjokaj from "Dollhouse" guest stars.
Enver Gjokaj guest-starred on "Lie to Me" with Tim Roth.
A quick review of last night's "Lie to Me" - guest-starring beloved in these parts actor Enver Gjokaj from "Dollhouse" - coming up just as soon as I take off my shoes...
If Joss Whedon had accomplished nothing else with "Dollhouse," the series still would have been worth it for the discovery(*) of Gjokaj, who turned out to not only be an expert mimic (playing other characters on the show at various points, so well that you'd start to wonder if they were dubbing in the co-star's voice) but an outstanding pure dramatic actor, and he and Dichen Lachman eventually and deservedly became the real emotional center of that show.
(*) And, yes, he had appeared in a bunch of things before this, including an episode of the Shawn Ryan-produced "The Unit" that no doubt led to him being cast here alongside Michael Irby. But for all intents and purposes, "Dollhouse" is where anyone who's aware of his existence became aware of it.
So I was curious to see how he'd do away from Joss Whedon's keyboard, and he was, indeed, excellent as the traumatized Iraq War veteran.
However, I had some larger structural problems with "React to Contact" - specifically with the question of what Lightman and Foster were even doing with this guy. Yes, the show has established in the past that they work a wide variety of cases, but this one seemed to be stretching the idea of what is a "lie" to a real extreme in order to shoehorn this story into this series. Ultimately, Cal and Gillian's expertise proved useful, but it just didn't make sense that they would be called in in the first place.
I also didn't love the use of virtual reality as part of Dr. Foster's technique. The idea seems sound; the presentation, on the other hand (even with the deliberately video game-style graphics) made the interface seem like magic, as it so often does whenever Hollywood tries to use VR as a storytelling device.
There were a lot of dangling pieces like that. Good performances, but not an episode that really hung together as a whole.
I know we have some "Lie to Me" fans around here, and I wouldn't be surprised if some "Dollhouse" fans checked out the show for the first time. Either way, what did you think?
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June 29, 2010 at 11:29AM EST Reply to CommentDoes any know what was Lightman's brain reaction when he saw Fosters' pic? Love?
Xeddicus It showed everything. They can't have him loving her/anything resembling happiness come out of it so soon after all.
July 2, 2010 at 12:52PM ESTKatie
June 29, 2010 at 12:09PM EST Reply to CommentI like Lie to Me, but wish they would leave their political views out of their storylines. We already have enough of that on other shows!
Xeddicus I agree. I like the show, but they need to leave off the liberal Hollywood slant.
July 2, 2010 at 12:47PM ESTjustjoan123
June 29, 2010 at 12:28PM EST Reply to CommentEnver Gjokaj is amazing, and I would probably line up to watch him guest start on anything, but I confess to being more than a little confused here. Maybe because I was watching it on DVR replay while falling asleep and had to rewind and slap myself a couple of times to keep with it, or maybe it was just the writing. You tell me. I just found too many red herrings before we came upon the real issue. Ronnie is abusing the son? No, Ronnie would never abuse the son. But he's making time with the wife, right? No, Ronnie would never make time with his best friend's wife. And she would never cheat unless she really, really wanted to. But Ronnie was there when whatever happened happened, right? Yes, ronnie was there, but that's not the issue either. Enver Gjokaj deserves the medal, right? Well, not for what he was nominated for, but he's a great soldier and a good guy and he's suffering a lot and if he was called upon to do voices he could totally do voices, right? Sorry, but this one had too much plot or too little, but performances I could applaud. I give it a 75 and you could sortakinda stumble around to it.
justjoan123
June 29, 2010 at 12:28PM EST Reply to CommentThey like this
MINKA KELLY
June 29, 2010 at 12:40PM EST Reply to CommentMY NAME IS MINKA KELLY AND I LOVE TO EAT BROWNIES.
Hatfield Always fun to have a celebrity round these parts!
June 29, 2010 at 2:40PM ESTAce
June 29, 2010 at 12:55PM EST Reply to CommentEnver Gjokaj and Dichen Lachman were by far my favorite part of Dollhouse. Hopefully they both find their way back to TV on a more permanent basis soon (preferablly together). But this episode didn't work for me either. I was distracted by his being a soldier again when he was one on Dollhouse. That might not be fair but it is true. But overall the episode itself was just boring.
MadlyMild I was actually enjoying the episode mainly by noticing how differently Gjokaj played this career soldier as opposed to the one he played on Dollhouse. Really great actors like that can bring something so subtle that just changes the person (character) entirely and it is cool to watch.
June 29, 2010 at 9:58PM ESTSchmoker
June 29, 2010 at 1:04PM EST Reply to CommentI think Tom Roth is doing some of the best work I've ever seen in a show that is mostly a rehash of every procedural you've ever seen. Occasionally the stories rise above, but only occasionally. Still, Roth's performance most weeks is so great that I cannot stop tuning in. I'm torn between wanting to see him in something better, and wanting him to stay on LTM, where they obviously give him full reign to make this character whatever Roth wants it to be.
Hatfield
June 29, 2010 at 2:43PM EST Reply to CommentI think this show is seriously underrated. I realize as a procedural there's not much to analyze every week, but in addition to the obvious goodness of Roth, the other characters have really started to come into their own. I especially liked, during the episode two weeks ago with the Irish terrorist, that we got to see an angry Loker. I'm very glad it's gonna get at least 13 more episodes after these last few.
belinda
June 29, 2010 at 3:00PM EST Reply to CommentThe episode is just ok (definitely not one of the best of the show), but Gjokaj did excellent work on what was a very limited character. I'm now more convinced than ever that someone needs to hire Enver Gjokaj immediately. Preferably on an excellent show, of course.
Hatfield Agreed. Hopefully something on FX or pay cable.
June 29, 2010 at 3:28PM ESTwhite
June 29, 2010 at 10:02PM EST Reply to CommentEnver is awesome, Dollhouse was a fanastic show. He did a great job on Lie to Me, it was my first time watching it and I watched it for him. It will also be my last time watching it but I did find the lead character to be charming.
June 30, 2010 at 4:37AM EST Reply to CommentEnver just alright to me...blame the writing if you like but his performance was unremarkable. Which is fine, just not...remarkable...like conjuring Fran Kranz.
I agree on the whole confusion over Lightman being called in, and on some structural issues. Over the course of 2.5 so far, though, my greater concern is with Torres and Loker really being relegated to the sidelines. They are solid, interesting characters when they're given the chance to be, and both provide a lightheartedness that's extremely important to balancing out Lightman's intensity.
J.
June 30, 2010 at 11:41AM EST Reply to CommentI'm with you on the stretch of them taking on the case, but it started working for me when they were getting a read on the captain. Maybe if the Lightman Group had picked it up there, with the Army(?) already having done its investigation to that point, finding something fishy, covering it up, etc. But would we have gotten all the Enver stuff?
I did, however, love the bits with Lightman and his daughter. I'm really glad they're amping that up this go-round.
Ovid Yeah, those scenes are great. They really humanize Lightman and the girl who plays his daughter can really hold her own even playing against Roth.
June 30, 2010 at 4:16PM ESTAriadne
July 1, 2010 at 11:58PM EST Reply to CommentEnver Gjokaj is indeed an amazing actor.
But I didn't make it all the way through the episode, I turned it off during one of the Lightman scenes, and that's saying something considering Lie To Me was one of my 'must see' shows last year.
This show has become just too ridiculous. I know it's a TV show and I have to suspend disbelief so while it makes no sense to call Lightman in for a case of PTSD, I could buy that.
But the writers have made Lightman into some kind of superhero: he stops bombers and terrorists; he instantly diagnoses serial killers; he works on both prosecution and defense at the same time; all women are incredibly attracted to him. Between that and the cool toys, is he the new wish fulfillment projection of the male writers?
But more than that, psychology on the show is so very, very bad even for a normal show much less for a show that is supposed to be about a psychologist. It's like they opted for fireworks instead of solid writing. In addition to being Lightman being inappropriate to people and lacking credibility in official circumstances, Tim Roth's performances have got so over the top that Lightman has become ridiculous. He always was kind of an ass but now he's not even an entertaining ass any more. (Much like Roth's countryman Hugh Laurie on House.)
The premise of the show was good and so was the start but Lie To Me has become another show where you have to park your brain at the door in order to enjoy it.
I think the writers need to use the supporting cast as characters in their own right rather than as props to Lightman. (Is there a rule at Fox that every show has to have a young attractive woman who is bisexual for purposes of titillating the audience? First House, then Bones and Mental and now Life To Me.) And they need to fix whatever they did with Lightman's relationship with his daughter because under the guies of 'realistic', which it isn't, their interactions have become very annoying. (Take a look at Castle episodes if they want to figure out how to write a single father and his teenage daughter.)
Basically, at this point I'm watching because I can't afford the cable channels and there's nothing to watch but reality shows and this.
I'm getting more and more disappointed in this show.
Jen
July 2, 2010 at 12:47PM EST Reply to CommentI agree that this case was a bit of a stretch. It was too much like an episode of Mental.
Why did they bother showing Dr Lightman yelling at his daughter for bringing him a cactus and then yelling at her as she walked down the hall? That scene made no sense to me. *This* is what keeps me awake at night.
Xeddicus Maybe to set her up for a story later. Need to keep her in the scenes to remind us he has a daughter.
July 2, 2010 at 12:53PM ESTAriadne If they're going to start giving non-Lightman characters stories, I wish they do it with the secondary cast first. We know a little bit about Foster (she wants a child; she met Lightman while she was a therapist)and we know Torres has a troubled past. But that's not enough when we're almost through season 2. And we know nothing about Loker at all. Meanwhile, we've already had Emily in Mexico and Emily's mother and Emily and friend.
July 5, 2010 at 10:52PM ESTdee
July 18, 2010 at 11:43PM EST Reply to CommentIn the description of the show it says Lightman comes to terms with unsettling truths about his past.... when did that happen? Did I miss something?
markicon
August 6, 2010 at 1:23PM EST Reply to CommentReact to Contact does not make sense, because there is no good reason why, in the first place, the Captain would have wanted to cover up his act of Friendly Fire, which seemed entirely innocent and accidental.